Desperado
by Harukaryu
Summary: Sam gets in a bit of trouble, and Danny pulls her out. Kinda AU Yes, I know the summary is bad, but I promise the story is better than it sounds. on hiatus because of document problems!
1. Chapter 1

Desperado

Desperado

Chapter 1

Angry tears ran down her face as she trudged down the street, the salty drops and pouring rain smudging her mascara. She ignored the thought that her heavy black makeup was ruined, and she must be a sight. Angry thoughts ran through her head: "How could they do this to me?! Don't they know ANYTHING about me?? Couldn't they have at least asked me about it beforehand??" But no, they just went and betrothed her to some random man she had never met, and when it was irreversible, they had gone and given her the ring, then said her wedding would be in two days! They hadn't asked her opinion, hadn't shown her the man, hadn't told her anything!!

Sam was a usually calm but fiercely independent individual, and so the sudden parental action shocked and angered her. Upon hearing the announcement, she had stormed to her room, grabbed a few female essentials and a picture of her and her friend, Tucker, and ran straight into her door. She cursed, and tried the handle again, but the door didn't open. Shit, her parents had locked her in. Well, no matter, she thought, and within two minutes she had produced a rope ladder and escaped through her window, which led her to her current situation, walking dejectedly through the rain. Little did she know, she was being watched by several darkness-cloaked pairs of eyes.

Lost in her own morbid musings, Sam didn't see the meaty man in front of her until it was too late. "Hey there little girl, what are you doin' here so late at night? Wanna help a poor guy?" he leered at her, while she stood stiffly in front of him. "Leave me alone, buster." She growled, trying to walk around him. However, another man materialized in her path. "What is it with losers and blocking my way? Move!" she cried. The men just chuckled at her, and the first one sneered "well, it seems we have caught a fiery one, hm boys? Isn't it nice to watch the light in their eyes die?" More men vacated the shadows, chuckling eerily and ogling her.

"That's it, you're history!" she cried, throwing herself at creep #1, whom she thought to be the leader of the gang. He merely smiled, however, and caught her fists in one hand, then brought his knee up into her stomach, and wrapped his free hand around her neck, winding her and effectively stopping her attack. Even as the grasp suddenly vanished and she felt herself pulled against a strong chest, she gasped for air as black spots began crowding out her vision. Just before she passed out, she though she saw a glimpse of glowing white gloves supporting her, and messy white bangs obscuring the remainder of her vision as the new person's head dipped down to ask if she was all right. Then her vision went black.

--

Danny walked soundlessly through the ghetto, automatically swerving around the people in his path. Normally he was a tall, raven-haired boy with eyes like the sky and a good deal of lean muscle that he easily covered with baggy clothing. At the moment, however, his hair was snow-white and his eyes lime-green, and in place of normal clothing he wore a black hazmat suit with white gloves, boots, and D-in-P logo, not that anyone could see that when he was invisible, of course. At the moment, he was wandering the streets mindlessly, hoping for a ghost attack or something to happen to take his mind off old memories.

'Well speak of the devil' he though as in front of him, a gang materialized and surrounded a girl who looked about his age, with short black hair, a black-and-purple tee shirt, and a matching black miniskirt and purse. He rose a few yards into the air and silently observed the scene below. A large man, presumably the leader, wanted to take her with the group, and he could tell nothing good would come of that. Apparently she could tell, too, because she vehemently opposed the idea. He thought she was doing fine on her own and was going to stay undetected until he saw the ringleader easily overpower her.

He sighed, since he usually preferred to stay out of fights. For some reason, however, the girl seemed to attract him. So, he floated down and phased her out of the thug's grasp, pulling her against him and looking down at her to inquire if she was OK. When she passed out, he became worried, wondering if her injuries were more serious than he had assumed. Carefully, he adjusted his hold on her until he was carrying her bridal-style, then looked around. The ruffians started, wondering where the stranger had suddenly appeared from. They soon got over their initial surprise, though, and inquired as to whether he really thought he could just take her from them, and insisting that they got to her first. By way of answer, Danny disappeared, taking his new charge with him, not really heeding the gangster's startled gasps and frightened wails.

His attention turned to the girl still unconscious in his arms. Where was he to put her? He didn't know where her house was, and he didn't have time to go around knocking on people's doors asking if they knew where she belonged. Also, her injuries must have been bad, and he needed a place to examine them. He sighed for the second time that night, then rose into the air again.


	2. Chapter 2

Desperado

Desperado

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: No, I do not own anything affiliated with Danny Phantom. I would, however, appreciate the aid of his ghost powers in escaping demented lawyers because as much as I believe the law should be upheld, there are times when things to too far…

--

After a couple of minutes in the air, Danny phased through a corrugated metal roof, touching down in an abandoned warehouse. He changed back to his human form and laid the girl down with uncharacteristic tenderness on a hastily devised mat of flattened boxes near a wall. He quickly found a blanket, and laid it beside her. First, he had to inspect her wounds. Where the man had grasped her throat, he found mild bruising. He predicted it would be painful for awhile, but it shouldn't slow her down in any way. Then he carefully peeled up her shirt, blushing as he realized what he was doing. But, it couldn't be helped, and he soon forgot his embarrassment when he saw her stomach. It had heavy bruising across it, and he could easily see that she wouldn't be going anywhere for a few days on her own. His brows furrowed thoughtfully as he replaced her shirt and covered her still body with the blanket.

He sighed. How was he going to get her home like this? He didn't have a car, and it wouldn't be a good idea to tell her his secret, just so that she could tell the world when she got home. Home. At least she had a home, unlike him. He had lived very happily with his parents and sister until that fateful day, when he had lost the two most important people and his life, and gained his ghost powers. The pain, both physical and mental, had been excruciating, as he had been shocked once by the portal, then again by his parents' death. After the funeral, he had been told that his new legal guardian was 'Uncle' Vlad Masters. Of course, he refused to relocate himself to the older halfa's mansion, because he knew from prior experience that he probably wouldn't ever get out again. However, the legal system had been adamant, so he did the only thing he could do- he ran away. In a week or so he would be one year since he had first ran, but Vlad was still hunting him. He frowned. Why did the other hybrid, who had money, power, and a cat named after his mom, want him? If only he could figure it out…

His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a fit of coughing from the girl, and he turned his gaze to meet deep plum eyes.

--

Sam felt as though she were swimming through an ocean of darkness. She struggled hard to regain consciousness, and was duly rewarded when her eyes slid hazily open. For a few moments, her vision was a bit blurry, then it cleared. She was staring at the metal ceiling of what looked like an empty warehouse. Sliding her eyes to the side a little, she discovered a dark-haired boy in a ragged midnight blue t-shirt and loose jeans that looked well-worn and a bit ripped. He had midnight hair that was covering most of his face at the moment. After a few seconds, she thought she saw him frown. Suddenly, she realized that her throat was very, very dry, and she launched into a series of violent coughs. When her body stopped seizing, she realized that she was staring into a pair of sky-blue eyes. She forgot about everything for a moment, caught in his gaze, but a lone cough interrupted her. Quickly, the boy stood up and she noted that he was only a few inches taller than her. Within moments he was back with a water bottle. He just behind her skull, and carefully lifted her head and shoulders, letting her flop against his chest, too weak to protest. She accepted the small but steady flow of water from the bottle, glad to relieve her parched throat. Finally, she slowly raised one hand to signal that she was done. The boy put down the water bottle and made to move away, but she moved her hand to his thigh and he stayed put while she enjoyed the warm and feeling of protection he exuded.

After a few moments, her broke the silence: "Are you feeling better?" She nodded weakly, aware of how unconvincing her answer seemed. There was another pause, then "You must want to go home, your parents are probably frantic by now. Where do you live?" Immediately, she shot up, only to collapse back against him with a groan of pain. "Whoa! Careful there, you have some serious injuries." Then, "What is wrong with going home?" Sam lay on his lap for a moment, catching her breath and gathering her thoughts. When she felt she was ready to face him, she said "I'm a runaway." Immediately, she felt him stiffen silently, and she wondered why such news would bring out that kind of reaction from him. Brushing it off temporarily, she continued "Yes, my parents are probably frantic, but only because they now don't have a bargaining chip to wed for monetary power. They don't care whether _I _want to know about my own freakin' wedding more than two days before the event itself!" Danny was silent, but she as she lay against him, one of his hands came up and began to stroke her hair, while the other held her a little tighter to him as he gazed into the distance. Suddenly overcome with the feelings that she had been bottling up, she cried. Although a little part of her felt embarrassed for such a display of emotion, the rest of her ignored and she turned in his grip, clutching handfuls of his shirt in her fists as she let the tears flow.

--

Danny was shocked. She was a runaway too? And her parents had tried to marry her off without her knowledge? He sat still as memories of his own escapade came back, and he absentmindedly began to stroke her hair. However, he quickly came back to himself when she broke into tears, clinging onto him and bawling into his shirt. For some reason, he didn't want to see her cry, so he gently adjusted his grip on her so that he could stroke her hair some more and rub her back soothingly. As she sobbed unhappily, he whispered gently to her, trying to tell her that it was all right, she would be OK.

After a while, she calmed down, and blushed when she realized that the boy she had broken down on had a very well built-chest. She shyly thanked him, and he told her it was ok. Suddenly, she threw her arms around him. Immediately he stiffened, unsure of what to do next. She quickly withdrew, afraid of offending him. He quickly assured her that she hadn't done anything wrong. They exchanged names, then brought up the subject of where to put her.

"Where are you going to go? Do you have a particular destination, an uncle's or aunt's house that you can go to?" he asked, hoping that she had somewhere to go. Of course, he never had been lucky, why would he be now?

"No, all my relatives would give me back to my parents, and probably treat me like a criminal in the process- theres no way I'll go to them. Why can't I stay with you?" she queried curiously.

He avoided her question, instead asking if there were any friends she had that would take her in. She immediately thought of Tucker, and said she had one friend, but her parents would head to his house first, so it would only work for a day at most. He sighed, and she repeated her previous question.

"Its too complicated, you just can't." he replied stiffly.

"Why, do you have some earth-shattering secret that you are afraid I would find out if I stayed with you?" she asked playfully. Immediately he froze, wondering how she managed to hit the nail directly on the head. Seeing his reaction, she rethought her playful comment: "Wait, you really do have a secret you are afraid of people discovering? How bad can it be?"

He avoided her gaze and mumbled something under his breath that she thought sounded like 'specimen' and 'freak'. Sam frowned, but didn't comment on his weird mumbling, opting to go for what seemed more important. "Well, I need a place to stay, and you seem pretty cozy here."

As if to prove her wrong, he suddenly shuddered, and she thought she saw a stream of blue mist slide out of his mouth. Immediately he cursed, and looked around frantically. "Hide!" he hissed, shoving her behind a stack of boxes, then ducking behind them himself.


End file.
